Archive for September 2012 (13 posts)

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“Better, sir, far better, that the blood of every man, woman, and child within the limits of the state should flow, than that she should defy the federal government,” swore Union Gen. Nathaniel Lyon to Missouri governor and Confederate sympathizer Claiborne Fox Jackson during negotiations to prevent the state from joining the Confederacy.

His next words, “this means war,” were put into action after Jackson publicly declared for the Confederacy. Following a few skirmishes in June and July, Union and Confederate factions met at first light on Aug. 10, 1861, at Wilson’s Creek, near Springfield, for what would ultimately be a Southern victory by default.

Lyon’s army struck the first blow, forcing the Confederates to retreat from high ground, which later would be called “Bloody Hill.” The Confederates then launched three counterattacks, but the Union line still held. However, the Southern army did manage to rout Union Col. Franz Sigel’s column, forcing the soldiers, many of whom were German, to flee for their lives. With this, the battle shifted in the South’s favor. Lyon had also been shot during the battle, becoming the first Union general to be killed in Civil War combat.

Although their lines remained unbroken, Union forces were exhausted and running low on ammunition. These and other considerations caused their new commander, Major Samuel D. Sturgis, to order his troops to withdraw, leaving the field to their enemy.

Sometimes called the “Bull Run of the West,” the Battle of Wilson’s Creek was the first major battle of the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

Soon to be on view in the Library’s new exhibition, “The Civil War in America,” opening Nov. 12, is a rare color German lithograph — never before placed on public display — that depicts the battle in which Lyon was killed. Translated, the caption says:

The battle began in the morning of August 14 and ended in the evening with the defeat of the Union troops. According to official reports, the Union losses totaled 800 dead and wounded. The Union troops made an orderly retreat to Rolla. Unfortunately General Lyon met his death. Eight-thousand men from the North and 23,000 from the South are said to have come under fire. The Confederates (who are in rebellion against the United States) reportedly suffered heavy losses. Generals Price and McCulloch fell in battle.”

(Maj. Gen. Sterling Price commanded the Missouri State Guard, which joined forces with Confederate forces lead by Brig. Gen. Benjamin McCulloch; both generals survived the battle.)

Europeans following the events of the American Civil War especially noted the formation of regiments comprising their countrymen. An estimated 1.3 million Germans alone lived in the North and the South during the Civil War and up to 216,000 served under the Union, while 18,000 wore Confederate gray. The firm of Oehmigke & Riemschneider based in Neuruppin, Germany, produced popular prints of Civil War battles. This image depicts the death of General Lyon at the Battle of Springfield (Wilson’s Creek) in Missouri, on August 10, 1861. Lyon’s command included several regiments of German volunteers and the battle was important news in Neuruppin.

The title of the image, “Die Schlacht bei Springfield in Nord Amerika” (The Battle of Springfield in North America), might be a source of confusion. According to Margaret Wagner, author of “The Library of Congress Illustrated Timeline of the Civil War,” the battle depicted in this rare lithograph is most commonly known as the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Since the battle occurred fairly close to Springfield, however, one alternative name for the engagement (and the name used by the German lithographers) is the Battle of Springfield.

Make sure to check back next Wednesday for another spotlight on other items from “The Civil War in America.” Until then, you can read a bit about them and the exhibition here.

The 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival closed up shop Sunday evening – leaving more than 200,000 delighted book-lovers thrilled to have heard from and met their favorite authors, stoked up with new titles to read, and exhilarated by two days of gorgeous fall weather there on the National Mall. One couple even got […]

(The following is a guest post from the Library’s Director of Communications, Gayle Osterberg.) It’s been a big week for the Library of Congress, as we’ve launched two exciting new resources to serve our many and varied audiences in the years ahead, and are rolling into our biggest event of the year on the National […]

(The following is a guest post from Audrey Fischer, editor of the new Library of Congress Magazine, LCM.) What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, we were putting to bed the final issue of the Library of Congress Information Bulletin—not just for the year 2011, but for all eternity. This […]

Author Bob Woodward will join the lineup for the Library of Congress National Book Festival, speaking at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 23 in the History & Biography Pavilion about his new book “The Price of Politics.” More about the two-day, free-and-open-to-the-public National Book Festival at www.loc.gov/bookfest. .

Library of Congress and Capitol Hill staff gathered today in the historic Thomas Jefferson Building for a special event launching Congress.gov, a new public beta site for accessing free, fact-based legislative information. Featuring platform mobility, comprehensive information retrieval and user-friendly presentation, the new site eventually will replace the THOMAS system, introduced in 1995. “Thomas Jefferson […]

The Library of Congress, with collections that are universal and comprise all media, has a long history of acknowledging the importance of books. Its “Books That Shaped America” exhibition is currently on view through Sept. 29 in the Southwest Gallery of the Thomas Jefferson Building. The exhibition is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. […]

Just days stand between the book-lovers of the USA and the Library of Congress National Book Festival! But don’t just stare at the countdown clock on the Festival website … check out the speaking and book-signing schedules for our 125 authors, or listen to the podcasts already available from some of this year’s authors. That […]

There were ample headlines about the Library of Congress in August that really gave a flavor of the institution’s collections, people and mission. Leading the way was a great feature in Delta’s Sky Magazine on the Library’s use of technology to preserve the nation’s past and future. At a time when so many libraries are […]

(The following is a guest article written by my colleague Mark Hartsell, editor of the Library’s staff newsletter, The Gazette, about a two-year project to bring together a Rachmaninoff archive.) The Library of Congress and a Moscow museum recently completed a project that, for the first time, brings together the original music manuscripts of one […]

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